Police investigating after child left on school bus Tuesday morning

BATON ROUGE - Police are investigating after a parent said her seven-year-old son was left behind on a school bus for hours and then was found wandering near Istrouma High Tuesday morning.

The child, a first-grader at Impact Charter Elementary School in Baker, was reportedly left on the bus around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. The boy's mother, Dineshea Chambers, believes he may have fallen asleep on the way to school. She said she wasn't contacted by the school when her son did not show up for class in the morning.

Chambers said her son told her he woke up inside the bus with the doors locked. After he managed to get out, a passerby saw the child running up a street near Istrouma High. The stranger picked up the boy and dropped him off at the high school, where a Baton Rouge police officer met him.

“I think bus drivers and drivers of any kind who are carrying children should take the time to check,” said Chambers. “He could have died,” she added.

The school says its bus routes are run through a third-party company, Baton Rouge Commuter Services.

A woman in her vehicle who claimed to be the owner of Impact Charter School approached a WBRZ reporter Tuesday evening outside the school. She said WBRZ should not report the incident and just "leave it alone."

She further stated the third-party bus company was not allowed to speak with WBRZ without her permission. The woman then drove away as the reporter pressed for more details.

The school's founder and CEO is Chakesha Scott according to its website.

It's unclear at this time if the driver will face charges. BRPD is investigating the incident.